Who Should Be Held Accountable For The Media's Mistakes Ahead of the Iraq Invasion?

The news comes on the heels of controversy over a Newsweek article by journalist Michael Isikoff saying that government investigators had corroborated an almost identical incident. Newsweek ultimately retracted its story under intense government pressure because a confidential government source could not be confirmed.

After the story broke, the White House and Pentagon have painted Isikoff and Newsweek as being responsible for deaths during rioting in Afghanistan following the article"s publication. Pentagon spokesperson Larry Dirita said "People are dead because of what this son of a ___ said. How could he be credible now?"

Even after Newsweek retracted its story, the White House continued its offensive. This is White House spokesperson Scott McClellan last week.

* Scott McClellan, White House press secretary speaking at a press briefing on May 17, 2005.

White House spokesperson Scott McClellan at a news conference last week. Since then, media outlets and human rights groups have revealed scores of allegations of abuse of the Koran by US interrogators and others. McClellan has now retreated on claims that Newsweek"s retracted story cost lives in Afghanistan. This is from a White House news confernce on Monday.

* Scott McClellan, White House press secretary speaking at a press briefing on May 17, 2005.

We are joined now by Michael Massing, a contributing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review and board member of the Committee to Protect Journalists. He is author of "Now They Tell Us: The American Press and Iraq." And on the line from California, Norman Soloman joins us - he is executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and author of the forthcoming book "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us To Death."

* Norman Solomon, executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He is author of the forthcoming book "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us To Death" which will be out in June.

* Michael Massing, a contributing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review and board member of the Committee to Protect Journalists. He is the author of "Now They Tell Us: The American Press and Iraq." He frequently writes for the New York Review of Books, the American Prospect and the Nation.

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